archive.
Chiefly in the form archives.
Meaning & usage
Chiefly in the form archives. A repository or other place for storing material (such as documents and records) no longer in current use, and usually having historical value.
Chiefly in the form archives. The material so stored, considered as a whole.
His archive of Old High German texts is the most extensive in Britain.
Chiefly in the form archives. The material so stored, considered as a whole. A natural deposit of material, regarded as a record of environmental changes over time.
peat archive soil archive
A collection, a repository.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂ergʰ-der.? Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-ā́ Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ρχή (ărkhḗ) Ancient Greek *ἀρχεῖος (*arkheîos) Ancient Greek ἀρχεῖον (arkheîon)bor. Latin archīvumbor. French archives French archivebor. English archive The noun is borrowed from French archive, archif, from Late Latin archīvum, archīum (“archive; room containing an archive; public record office”), from Ancient Greek ἀρχεῖον (arkheîon, “office of a magistrate; public building or office; town hall; (in the plural) archives; public records”), a noun use of the neuter form of *ἀρχεῖος (*arkheîos, “relating to an office”), from ᾰ̓ρχή (ărkhḗ, “beginning, origin; authority, sovereignty”) (from ἄρχω (árkhō, “to begin; to govern, rule”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to fit; to fix; to put together”), or *h₂ergʰ- (“to begin; to command; to rule”)) + -ῐος (-ĭos, suffix meaning ‘of or relating to’ forming adjectives). The verb is derived from the noun.
To place or store (something, such as a document or record) in an archive (noun sense 1.1).
I was planning on archiving the documents from 2001.
The library archives some of its older books.
To transfer (less used or obsolete data, files, etc.) to a storage medium for long-term storage.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂ergʰ-der.? Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-ā́ Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ρχή (ărkhḗ) Ancient Greek *ἀρχεῖος (*arkheîos) Ancient Greek ἀρχεῖον (arkheîon)bor. Latin archīvumbor. French archives French archivebor. English archive The noun is borrowed from French archive, archif, from Late Latin archīvum, archīum (“archive; room containing an archive; public record office”), from Ancient Greek ἀρχεῖον (arkheîon, “office of a magistrate; public building or office; town hall; (in the plural) archives; public records”), a noun use of the neuter form of *ἀρχεῖος (*arkheîos, “relating to an office”), from ᾰ̓ρχή (ărkhḗ, “beginning, origin; authority, sovereignty”) (from ἄρχω (árkhō, “to begin; to govern, rule”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to fit; to fix; to put together”), or *h₂ergʰ- (“to begin; to command; to rule”)) + -ῐος (-ĭos, suffix meaning ‘of or relating to’ forming adjectives). The verb is derived from the noun.
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Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.